Echo Parenting and Education
History
Echo Parenting & Education (formerly known as the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting) was founded in 1999, born out of a conviction that physical and emotional punishment are violations of fundamental human rights and are violent and harmful to children, families and communities..
Mission
Our mission is to support and facilitate child-raising rooted in connection and empathy. We teach parents, teachers and others who strongly influence children's lives an approach that integrates current research in human development with the practice of nonviolence. Our goal is to spread the message of nonviolence in child-raising to the families, systems of care and other social institutions of Los Angeles County (and beyond) through the training of parents and professionals, and community events.
Although our services are local, we are part of a worldwide movement that upholds the right of a child to dignity and respect.
Defining Nonviolence
At Echo Parenting & Education we define violence as anything that hurts the heart, mind or body of a child and leads to disconnection and distrust.This includes spanking, bribes, threats, name calling, shaming, manipulation, being untruthful, even praise and rewards. This view moves beyond the current legal definition of child abuse and into a more comprehensive understanding of what violence toward children means. Given this view, and the likelihood that the majority of parents have been raised under the traditional paradigm that justifies the use of these harmful strategies to control children, we believe that our services are vital to every family, not just those with documented risk factors for child abuse and neglect.
More on Services
Last year we served over 5,000 people through our 22 programs and four annual community events. Of the 3,500 people were trained through our classes, workshops and conferences, more than 850 were professionals in the family mental health, domestic violence, childcare and education systems (and receive Continuing Education Units for their participation). Our community parenting classes, which are offered on a sliding scale (although no one is turned away for inability to pay) continue to draw approximately 2,000 community members per year. The 10-week series is offered almost continuously throughout the year and graduates are invited to join our weekly support groups. We have seen a growth in our private home classes,
now reaching approximately 600 parents in neighborhoods where we previously did not have a presence. Through the Trainer's Institute, we trained 35 Parent Educators in our curriculum so that they can disseminate our message more widely. We also trained and mentored 46 Spanish-speaking unlicensed childcare workers who are part of the vast unseen workforce of nannies working in private residences, often with little or no training. In addition, we provided services to five domestic violence shelters, training staff in the provision of nonviolent parenting classes and childcare, using a Trauma Informed approach (which seeks to not re-traumatize victims of violence). We also host a domestic violence conference that has become an annual highlight for professionals in the field. This year, we introduced a Mediation Program to assist parents in working through conflicts with partners, childcare givers, and adolescents. Most of our programs and events are offered in both Spanish and English, and many of the community programs are supported by an exemplary childcare program with its own curriculum that parallels the information received by the adults..
www.theechocenter.org
